What to Watch in JPMorgan, Wells Fargo Earnings

Quarterly earnings from JPMorgan and Wells Fargo will provide perspective on the financial sector, as well as housing, Stephanie Link of TheStreet.com said Thursday on CNBC.

"I do think we'll get some final resolution to close the door on London Whale. Certainly, we're going to be looking at loan growth and how bad is NIM - net interest margins. Then, also we're expecting them to kind of go through what's their plans for their capital allocation," she said on " Fast Money ."

"Wells Fargo, you're going to get more color on housing, and that's important, obviously. That's one of the reason why we're overweight the banks at this point. What's also important for Wells is their expense ratio. They have actually had problems in the past keeping their expenses in control."

Both JPMorgan and Wells fargo report quarterly earnings Friday before the market opens.

"I think Goldman's one of the names that you want to look at and you want to be long," said Mike Murphy of Rosecliff Capital.

A dip in stock prices of top bank names is an opportunity to add to positions, he added.

"Either way, whatever the reaction is to these earnings, I think you're going to get clarity from each of them," Murphy said.

Josh Brown agreed.

"Goldman makes a lot of money in markets like what we've just had in the third quarter. This is where they probably knock the cover off the ball out of all the quarters of the past year."

Brown said that he was also looking to earnings.

"What we want to see, I think, is this continuing of housing improvement," he said.

Besides looking to Wells Fargo for a housing tell, Brown said he would look at U.S. Bancorp, "which has a decent-sized window into that."

Stephen Weiss of Short Hills Capital picked his favorite.

"I'm just not a big fan of Citi because I'm not a huge fan of their management," he said. "I'm in BofA. I think that's got great upside. It's below book. It's cheap on a book basis. It's much maligned. The stock's done well."

______________________________________________________
Got something to to say? Email fastmoney-web@cnbc.com and your comment might be posted on the Rapid Recap. If you'd prefer to make a comment, but not have it published online, email fastmoney@cnbc.com.

Related Stories

• What to Watch in JPMorgan, Wells Fargo Earnings
• Market in ‘Pause-and-Ponder’ Mode: Stoltzfus
• Your First Move for Thursday, Oct. 11
• Global Tensions Could Push Oil to $100: Kilburg
• US Auto Names Poised for China Gains: Analyst